..but who would want to be weighed when you're pregnant to make sure you're not getting too fat!!

[Chocolate50]

The Government are considering weighing pregnant women throughout their pregnancy.. who thinks this is a good idea?
I don't btw, I think there is enough tests and stress during pregnancy without putting in this austere measure, should they not be just trying to emphasise healthy living and diet and just leaving it up to women and families to make their own choices? how patronising..

Also are there enough stats regarding the correct amount of weight that should be gained? I can see this causing unnecessary stress and high blood pressure.

Of course it's sensible to be weighed during pregnancy to check on any unexpected weight gain or loss. People who think it's an infringement on their personal liberty are barking mad.

Worra's not a troll! She's been on MN forever.

I think if you're actually lucky enough to get and stay pregnant (and I couldn't do the latter), then getting weighed by the NHS is hardly torture - and it probably all helps add up to better stats to predict healthcare for you and baby.

Instead of attacking sensible ideas like this, I'd rather we worked on the attitude that says weight is something to do with moral failing, and something to be ashamed of.

I’m a community midwife. Most women I see at booking in appointments have a BMI over 25. Many women I care for have a BMI over 30 or 35. You have to be honest with these women about the potential risks involved with having a higher than optimal weight and the importance of monitoring weight gain in pregnancy but you end up feeling like the bad guy because it just isn’t the done thing to criticise someone’s weight/size and it can come across as an attack. People are very sensitive about this.

That said, I would actually welcome a more holistic approach to antenatal care and feel that greater emphasis on diet and lifestyle would be hugely beneficial. This could include regular weighing, which of course women would be well within their rights to decline if they felt uncomfortable. Unfortunately those who would decline would likely be those who would benefit from more input.

I don't think this was a govt proposal - its the Royal College of Midwives pushing this.

Oh fgs, worra is anything but a troll.

I was weighed at my booking appointment and am on several meds while pregnant so get weighed to check dosages. I’m doing everything I can to be healthy for me, my pregnancy and my baby. When they weigh me it’s because they want to give me the best care.

They can’t lock you up if you decline to be weighed and anyone who objects can do so but it’s not coming from a place of judgement. If you’re getting massive you might be overeating or you might be ill. Choosing to be honest rather than coy might help keep you safe. But you’re still a sovereign adult and if you don’t want care and support that’s on you.

I think it depends how it is handled. For anaesthetic procedures, yes. Ensuring normal growth, yes. Pressurising women not to put on too much weight, no.

leafgrass excessive weight gain is not just about 'good nutrition' versus 'bad nutrition'.

It's often also about overeating, not exercising enough etc.

Monitoring these things and advising the pregnant mother before the weight gain poses a risk to her and her unborn child cannot be a bad thing imo.

And I'm really surprised anyone would think it is.

feel that greater emphasis on diet and lifestyle would be hugely beneficial.

Well, yes, but it would help if there was consensus amongst health professionals over what is a healthy diet..l

I’m overweight, and had a consultant led pregnancy (for reasons unrelated to obesity).

I remember getting weighed at one appointment and getting a lecture from the consultant about the dangers to me and baby of gaining too much weight during pregnancy. They were more concerned with the implications of gaining too much weight than about my initial weight.

Can’t remember all the possible risks they talked about now, but the clear impression I got was that they were more concerned about how excess weight gain might make the pregnancy riskier, and making sure i was informed about that, than about “policing” me.

I personally don’t see an issue with doctors and midwives monitoring weight throughout pregnancy and making sure pregnant women are informed about risks associated with excess weight gain. Or rush’s associated with weight loss, for that matter.

And FWIW I never bothered weighing myself at home when pregnant.

I wish I had been weighed. It may have stopped me eating ridiculously. I know I could have weighed myself - but I didn’t want to know because what I didn’t know wouldn’t upset me. I should have been weighed, upset, and then maybe wouldn’t have or so outrageously enormous. My biggest pregnancy regret is eating so enormous.

It's often also about overeating, not exercising enough etc.

As I said an actual weight loss diet could be problematic in pregnancy. As could overexercising if the patient is not used to it.

The type of food I eat does have a profound effect on my weight. I am not unusual. I log food and track macro nutrients as well as exercising pretty much everyday. (45 minute run plus walking)

...I didn't do all that in pregnancy though. Put about 1 and a half stones on from memory.

As I said an actual weight loss diet could be problematic in pregnancy. As could overexercising if the patient is not used to it.

Which is why it's great that they'll be given medical advice.

Win - win. Good for mother and good for baby.

I really cannot see a problem here. Even if the mother was adamant she didn't want weighing, well no-one can force her to be weighed...so again it's a winner imo.

Monitoring these things and advising the pregnant mother before the weight gain poses a risk to her and her unborn child cannot be a bad thing imo.

Again, it depends how sensitively this is done.

I can't see a problem with it to be honest. It's just another way of monitoring your health and making sure Mum and Baby are getting the best care.
Also if you are really opposed to it then don't get on the scales! They can'y exactly force you to hop on!

Which is why it's great that they'll be given medical advice

But there is not really a consensus amongst the medical community over what constitutes a healthy diet!

I've been weighed at my midwife appointments so far. As someone with a higher BMI (31 although I'm almost 20 weeks now and have put on very little weight and actually lost weight in first trimester) I can't say it's ever bothered me and wouldn't ever refuse. Generally, people in the NHS don't waste time doing things for no reason or benefit. But my weight has never been mentioned as an issue generally - I was the one to bring it up at booking in and my midwife shrugged and said I had zero other risk factors so she wasn't concerned and it hasn't been mentioned since. But I would like to be told if I was gaining more than I should or if their professional opinion was that my weight was getting too high.

I'd weigh myself if I ever get pregnant again as they are not weighing me, they seriously don't care and it's a box ticking exercise.

I was weighed in both my pregnancies but weightloss was not taken seriously as my normal weight is quite high.

I was a size 12/14 start of first and a size 16 start of second but on the scales I weigh at least 2 stone heavier than my dress size suggests.

Some people are just heavier than others. But their lack of care meant serious issues went unnoticed due to higher starting weight.

I'm definitely sticking to my guns this time and will monitor myself and not put myself under the humiliating getting on the scales at appointments and I'll be having a home birth if healthy enough as previously denied it. First time was healthy at the end but they said no and second time was very ill so understandable.

I was weighed throughout both pregnancies (dc are 13 & 10) and never thought anything of it. It seemed an entirely normal thing to do; I can't see the big deal. I'm more shocked to learn it isn't routinely done!

Women here still get weighed routinely at antenatal appointments. We have a consultant led maternal obesity clinic as these women are classed as high risk pregnancies are are offered help to manage, not lose, weight during their pregnancies

I was weighed every four weeks or so during my pregnancy.

On one notable occasion, the consultant (who I'd never seen before or since) wandered in, told me that the was overweight and wandered out. I didn't even get a chance to ask the bloody consultant about my raging yeast infection as she'd called me fat and fucked off.

I wouldn't mind (well, I fucking would) but I was on steroids for the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, didn't gain any weight after 13 weeks, and two days post-partum I'd returned to my pre-pregnancy weight. Hardly a monumental weight gain that was threatening the life of my baby.

I was weighed throughout every pregnancy. The last time around there was much talk of gestational diabetes which I hadn't heard of before and I think weight gain can be indicative of it.

In theory I like the idea but given the shambles of maternity care in this country already I don’t want to add another box to tick to the already monotonous round of

‘Here’s a thing we don’t have time to talk about but here’s a leaflet’

‘It’s probably a good idea to keep an eye on this, but it is quite a personal thing, but it’s unlikely you will see the same midwife twice so errr....leaflet?’

One thing I will say though is that talk of 'dramatic' weight gain can be triggering to those with history of eating disorders. I 'ballooned' to a size 10 and was told if I continued I would be at risk of GD.